Development and Evaluation of an Innovative Web-based Training, Learning, and Sharing (i-TLS) Platform for Social Workers: Hong Kong Jockey Club SMART Family-Link Project (Preprint)

Abstract

Background: Information and communication technology (ICT) use may enhance social work practice and continuous professional development. Under the Hong Kong Jockey Club SMART Family-Link project, we developed an innovative web-based training, learning, and sharing (i-TLS) platform to support ICT and other learning needs of Hong Kong social workers in family services. Objective: We developed i-TLS with 3 major components (i-Training, i-Learning, and i-Sharing) and assessed the acceptability and impact on facilitating ICT use in family services. Methods: We described i-TLS development based on a 4-phase model from platform design, development, implementation to maintenance. We evaluated i-TLS via platform database, Google Analytics, a self-administered survey, and individual phone interviews 1 year after launching. Results: i-TLS was launched to 26 Integrated Family Service Centers (IFSCs) and Integrated Services Centers (ISCs) operated by 12 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on 1 July 2019. The outbreak of COVID-19 started in December 2019 limited face-to-face services, which catalyzed the urgent needs of digital transformation in social work practice. By 31 July 2020, 313 social workers (23 supervisors, 290 frontline workers) had registered with i-TLS. The platform database showed 79.6% (249/313) users accessed i-TLS at least once in the last 28 days, with on average 3.2 platform visits per day viewing 4.8 pages per visit. i-Training provided 41 training mini-modules in applying ICT to family services from counseling, program design, implementation to evaluation. Of 730 enrolments in total, 70.0% (511/730) completed the mini-modules and were awarded digital mini-certificates. i-Learning provided 112 items of learning resources centered around ICT use and family services and had nearly 4000 page views recorded from Google Analytics. i-Sharing had a total of 25 discussion threads with 59 posts. 53.7% (168/313) users completed the 1-year evaluation survey, including 12 who participated in the phone interviews. The mean i-TLS satisfaction score (out of 10) increased from light (4.99) to occasional (6.15) and frequent (6.31) users. Frequent users showed higher scores (out of 10) than light users for an increase in knowledge (5.84 versus 4.09; P<.001), self-efficacy (5.23 versus 3.96; P=.02), and knowledge application (6.46 versus 1.91; P<.001). From the phone interviews, users reported increased ICT use in family services, despite some practical barriers. i-TLS was perceived as an acceptable and supportive tool for learning and practice in family services, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: We have first reported the development and evaluation of a newly developed web-based learning platform (i-TLS) for social workers in family services. The results provided preliminary evidence of using i-TLS to support social workers’ continuous learning and ICT-enhanced services. Accessibility to self-directed and collaborative learning is essential for optimizing social workers’ learning. Further research on enhancing web-based platforms is needed to expand participation and capacity building of social workers and other related professionals.